Salem Trolley, a festival sponsor, offers an inexpensive shuttle to the festival every 30 minutes from several locations including the commuter rail station, National Park Service Visitors Center, and Salem Ferry Landing.

Organizers encourage audience members to walk, ride bicycles, or take the trolley to Salem Willows, as parking is limited.

The festival runs from 11:15 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days.

Salem Jazz and Soul is a nonprofit dedicated to producing free concerts and donating to local music education programs.

NORTH COUNTRY: Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jess Leary makes her debut performance at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport on Saturday.

A Hingham native, Leary was a fixture on Boston’s folk, rock, and country scenes in the early 1980s. As regional winner of the “Wrangler Country Star Search,” she was flown to Nashville to perform at the Grand Ole Opry.

She decided to embark on a new chapter in her life and moved to Nashville in 1985.

After five years with little recognition or employment, she gained a deal with Reba McEntire’s publishing company, Starstruck Writers Group. Later, McEntire hired her as a backup vocalist and guitarist for her 1992 tour.

During the following years, Leary became a busy backup singer and musician, touring with both Garth Brooks and Faith Hill.

She performed at the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, and on various television shows with Pam Tillis, Deana Carter, and Martina McBride, and occasionally joined folk singer Melanie Safka and the Indigo Girls on stage.

Leary’s songwriting credits include two number one songs, “Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life),” co-written and performed by Tillis, and Tim McGraw’s “Where the Green Grass Grows.”

IN LOCAL GALLERIES:
An exhibit of work by Barbara Rafferty
is at the Gallery at Grosvenor Park
in Salem through Sept. 5. Her paintings include watercolor and mixed-media pieces. Bold and colorful abstract paintings show her interest in exploring light and form, while she uses natural objects and ink sketching to enhance her paintings. She has nine grown children and many grandchildren, and is retired from Salem State University. . . . “Fields,” a solo exhibition of work by Maria Malatesta, opens at Chameleon
in Newburyport with a reception from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday. Her paintings are experiential interpretations of landscapes. Malatesta teaches at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly. . . . A solo show of watercolors, photography, and mixed media by Karen S. Fitzgerald
of North Andover is at the Newburyport Art Association
Aug. 21 through 26. An opening reception is at 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 22. She presents a watercolor demonstration at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 24, and talks about her black and white darkroom enlarged pieces at 2 p.m. Aug. 25. Fitzgerald teaches art and photography at Methuen High School.